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The first records of Carnival festivities in Rio de Janeiro date back to 1723. Immigrants from the Portuguese islands of Açores, Madeira and Cabo Verde introduced here the Entrudo.
The idea was basically getting everybody soaked wet. People would go out in the streets with buckets of water and limes, and everybody could be a potential victim. Even Emperors took part in the fun. There's a curious record of a woman being arrested in 1855 for throwing a lime at Dom Pedro I's escorts.
Zé Pereira was a contribution of a Portuguese shoemaker named José Nogueira de Azevedo, in the mid XIX century. On Carnival Mondays he would march in the streets with his friends playing drums, tambourines, pans, and whistles. Everybody was welcome to join the fun.
Grandes Sociedades or Great Societies was a more organized parade that debuted in 1855, with the presence of the Emperor himself. A group of eighty aristocrats in masks paraded with luxury costumes, music, and flowers. It was a big success. Democráticos, Fenianos and Tenentes do Diabo were the three most well-known groups.
Cordão Carnavalesco is a concept that got its start in 1870. There were characters like queens, kings, witches, peasants and dancers, and they performed according to the costumes they were wearing. There were also the Cordões de Velhos, where participants would wear huge papier-mâché masks and walk in an old man's gait.
Carnival in the XX Century
Ranchos Carnavalescos are a contribution of an immigrant from Bahia named Hilário Jovino da Silva. They started in 1872 as working class festivity. People would dress up in costumes and perform on the parade accompanied by an orchestra of strings, ganzás, flutes, and other instruments. They were more organized than the Cordões, and gained popularity around 1911.
With the sponsorship of brewery Hanseática, the Ranchos started organized competitions. They became one of the main attractions of Rio de Janeiro's Carnival, together with the Great Societies. The parade already included a first-wing (abre alas), an orchestra, a male and female choir, and a couple of mestre sala and porta bandeira.
The parades were halted during World War II and started again in 1947. By then the competition happened on Av. Rio Branco. The last competition of ranchos was in 1990, and the winner was a club named Decididos de Quintino.
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